书城公版Volume Four
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第66章 UNS EL WUJOUD AND THE VIZIER$$$$$S DAUGHTER ROSE-I

Then she mountedand they set forward with her and fared on over desert and plain and hilltill they came to the shore of the Sea of Treasureswhere they pitched their tents and built a great shipin which they embarked her and her suite and carried them over to the mountain. Here they left them in the castle and making their way back to the shorebroke up the vesselin obedience to the Vizier's commandmentand returned homeweeping over what had befallen.

MeanwhileUns el Wujoud arose from sleep and prayed the morning prayerafter which he mounted and rode forth to wait upon the Sultan. On his wayhe passed by the Vizier's house,thinking to see some of his followersas of wontbut saw no one and drawing near the doorread the verses aforesaid written thereon. At this sighthis senses failed him;fire was kindled in his vitals and he returned to his lodgingwhere he passed the rest of the day in ceaseless trouble and anxiety,without finding ease or patiencetill night darkened upon him,when his transport redoubled. So he put off his clothes and disguising himself in a fakir's habitset outat a venture,under cover of the nightdistraught and knowing not whither he went.

He wandered on all that night and next daytill the heat of the sun grew fierce and the mountains flamed like fire and thirst was grievous upon him. Presentlyhe espied a treeby whose side was a spring of running water;so he made towards it and sitting down in the shadeon the bank of the rivulet,essayed to drinkbut found that the water had no taste in his mouth. Then[looking in the stream,] he saw that his body was wastedhis colour changed and his face grown pale and his,feetto bootswollen with walking and weariness. So he shed copious tears and repeated the following verses:

The lover is drunken with love of his fair;In longing and heat he redoubles fore'er.

Love-maddenedconfoundeddistractedperplexedNo dwelling is pleasant to him and no fare.

For howto a lover cut off from his loveCan life be delightsome? 'Twere strange an it were.

I melt with the fire of my passion for her And the tears down my cheek roll and never forbear.

Shall I ever behold her or one from her steadWith whom I may solace my heart in despair?

And he wept till he wet the ground;after which he rose and fared on again over deserts and wildstill there came out upon him a lionwith a neck buried in haira head the bigness of a domea mouth wider than the door [thereof] and teeth like elephants'tusks. When Uns el Wujoud saw himhe gave himself up for lost and turning towards Meccapronounced the professions of the faith and prepared for death.

Now he had read in books that whoso will flatter the lion,beguileth himfor that he is lightly duped by fair words and glorieth in praise;so he began and said'O lion of the forest and the waste! O unconquerable warrior! O father of heroes and Sultan of wild beasts! BeholdI am a desireful loverwhom passion and severance have undone. Since I parted from my belovedI have lost my reason;whereforedo thou hearken to my speech and have ruth on my passion and love-longing.'When the lion heard thishe drew back from him and sitting down on his hind-quartersraised his head to him and began to frisk his tail and paws to him;which when Uns el Wujoud sawhe recited these verses:

Wilt slay meO lord of the desertbefore My enslaver I meet withe'en her I adore?

No fat on me is;I'm no booty for thee;For the loss of my loved one hath wasted me sore.

Yeamy love's separation hath worn out my soulAnd I'm grown like a shapewith a shroud covered o'er.

Give the railers not cause to exult in my woeO prince of the spoilersO lion of war!

A loverall sleepless for loss of my dearI'm drowned in the tears from mine eyelids that pour;And my pining for her in the darkness of night Hath robbed me,for passionof reason and lore.

When he had finishedthe lion rose and coming softly up to himwith his eyes full of tearslicked him with his tongue,then walked on before himsigning to himas who should say,'Follow me.'So he followed himand he led him on till he brought himover a mountainto the farther sidewhere he came upon the track of a caravan and knew it to be that of Rose-in-bud and her company. When the lion saw that he knew the track and set himself to follow ithe turned back and went his way;whilst Uns el Wujoud followed the foot-markstill they brought him to a surging seaswollen with clashing billows. The trail led down to the water's edge and there broke off;whereby he knew that they had taken ship there and had continued their journey by sea. So he lost hope of finding his beloved and repeated the following versesweeping sore:

Far's the place of visitation and my patience faileth me For my love;but how to reach her o'er the abysses of the sea?

Whenfor love of hermy vitals are consumed and I've forsworn Slumbersleep for wake exchangingahhow can I patient be?

Since the day she left the homesteads and departedhath my heart Burnt with never-ceasing anguishall a-fire with agony.

Oxus and Jaxartesrunning like Euphratesare my tears;More than rain and flood aboundingrun like rivers to the sea.

Ulcerated are my eyelids with the running of the tearsAnd my heart on fires of passion's burnt and wasted utterly.

Yeathe armies of my longing and my transport on me pressed,And the hosts of my endurance did before them break and flee.

Lavishly my life I've ventured for the love of her;for life Is the lightest to a lover of all venturesverily.

Be an eye of God unpunished that beheld the beauteous oneThan the moon how much more splendidin the harem's sanctuary!

Struck was I and smitten prostrate by wide-opened eyeswhose shaftsFrom a bow all stringless loosenedpierced the hapless heart of me.

By the soft and flexile motions of her shape she captived me,Swaying as the limber branches sway upon the cassia-tree.

Union with her I covetthat therewith I may apply Solace to the pains of passionlove and care and misery.

For the love of herafflictedas I amI have become;All that's fallen on me betided from the evil eyeperdie.